BEVERLY — The Beverly/Peabody Elks Club has a tentative agreement to buy the Italian Community Center and move into the ICC’s building on Rantoul Street.
The sale, which is still subject to approval by Beverly/Peabody Elks members and the national Elks Grand Lodge, could mean the end of the ICC, a social club founded in 1933 by families who lived in the predominantly Italian neighborhood along Rantoul Street.
ICC President Guy Calabro said ICC members could seek another location, but he said most of its members are older and the club might discontinue.
“It’s just hard,” he said. “There’s always a dream that it could happen again (at a new location). I don’t know if that will happen.”
Calabro said the ICC is forced to sell its building due to financial problems. The club was closed for three years due to the pandemic and burst pipes that flooded the building and caused extensive damage.
The ICC spent $1.8 million repairing the building and reopened last year. But Calabro said the financial strain caused by the shutdown combined with declining membership means it can no longer afford the building. Membership has dropped from more than 1,000 to around 200.
“We were closed for three years and still had to pay a mortgage, still had to pay taxes,” Calabro said. “It really depleted all our money. Trying to start up again was really, really difficult. Memberships are off at all the clubs.
“It’s not the same anymore. ICC members are all senior citizens now and it’s hard to build a membership and a club with all senior citizens.”
The agreement calls for the Elks to buy the building for $3.2 million, Calabro said.
Ken Crowley, chairman of the board for the Beverly/Peabody Elks, said members are scheduled to vote on Nov. 12 on the potential sale. The sale must also be approved at the national level by the Grand Lodge.
The Elks would sell its building on Bow Street plus two apartment buildings on the street that it also owns to help finance the purchase of the ICC building, he said.
The ICC location is a more modern facility that is handicap-accessible and has more parking than the Elks’ Bow Street location, Crowley said.
“We enjoy the current lodge, but we’d be moving on to something that’s more modern,” he said.
The Beverly Elks Club started on Cabot Street in 1913 and moved to Bow Street in 1974. It merged with the Salem Elks in 2006 and with the Peabody/Lynn Elks in 2022. The club has about 850 members.
Calabro said the decision to sell the ICC was difficult, but he’s confident that the Elks, where he is also a member, will be good stewards of the building. ICC members unanimously approved the sale. ICC members would be invited to join the Elks.
“The Elks are a fine organization,” he said. “I know they will take care of our beloved building.”
The ICC had other offers from developers who wanted to knock down the building and put up apartments. But Calabro said he wanted to save the building, even though it meant making less money on the sale. The building is at 302 Rantoul St. and has a large parking lot, with 87 spaces.
“This will be perfect for the Elks,” he said.
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.